The present invention relates to an arrangement for the control of at least one magnitude influencing the driving torque of an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, with a drive pedal and a position transmitter converting the drive pedal position into a desired value signal, with a comparator in which the magnitude to be controlled is compared with the desired value signal and with an adjusting device which produces a signal for increasing the magnitude to be controlled when the desired value signal exceeds the actual value and which produces a signal for reducing the magnitude to be controlled when the desired value signal drops below the actual value.
Such an arrangement is generally referred to as "electronic gas pedal."
An arrangement of this type is disclosed in the DE-OS No. 30 19 562, in which an electronic gas pedal is further expanded in that a function generator is arranged between the gas pedal and the adjusting element acting on the magnitude influencing the driving torque, which specifies a function between gas pedal position and, for example, a throttle valve position dependent on different factors. A fine-feel of the gas pedal corresponding to the respective conditions can be achieved therewith. A sudden adjustment of the gas pedal, for example, up to the full abutment (kick-down) is followed, however, in every case by a complete opening of the throttle valve.
Considerable excess torques result in the driving connection by such a manner of operation which have as a consequence considerable losses, especially in traction and lateral guidance force. Particularly critical and initially non-controllable instabilities of the vehicle behavior occur when steering into a curve with a simultaneous sudden gas pedal depression.
The existing excess torque cannot be reduced in vehicles equipped with regulating systems such as, for example, drive slippage regulation, regulation of the driving stability, etc. by a fast regulating circuit so rapidly that disadvantageous instabilities of the vehicle could be prevented. This is true for all vehicle conditions, beginning, for example, during the start of the drive of the vehicle on ice.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an arrangement which assures that no excessively large excess torques can occur in any operating condition of the vehicle.
The underlying problems are solved according to the present invention in that a further regulating system is provided which initiates a regulating operation when the desired value signal is larger than the actual value of the magnitude to be regulated and at the same time the desired value--increase velocity exceeds a predeterminable desired value which specifies an internal desired value for the magnitude to be regulated coordinated to the vehicle velocity and/or the outside temperature, which causes the actual value to follow the internal desired value with an increase velocity dependent on magnitudes determining the driving torque, which after reaching the internal desired value keeps constant the actual value for a predetermined holding period, which after lapse of the holding period increases the internal desired value by a factor dependent on at least one predetermined influencing magnitude and subsequently again causes a follow-up of the actual value and keeps the same constant for the holding period and repeats these operating steps until the actual value is equal to the desired value signal and therewith the regulating operation is terminated, whereby the regulating operation is interrupted as soon as and as long as the first regulating system (ASR) is active. According thereto, the known "electronic gas pedal" which operates as so-called follow-up control, is expanded by one regulating system which increases the magnitude influencing the driving torque with an increase velocity dependent essentially on the driving torque with continuous monitoring for exceeding predetermined limit values up to the desired value specified by the gas pedal. It is prevented thereby that when exceeding these limit values, an excessively large excess torque results whereby a regulating deviation can be rapidly controlled.
A sole combination of an electronic gas pedal with the regulating system according to the present invention is quite feasible, however, it becomes meaningful only together with a so-called drive slippage regulation which can regulate occurring excess torques that cannot be avoided alone by the driver, before harmful traction and lateral guidance force losses can occur.